RogerH Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 Just a short while ago Alaskan Airways had a serious decompression when a fuselage body panel decided to leave the aircraft - ooer! It looks very different to the Aloha Airlines B737 that lost its roof quite a while ago. The panels are chemically thinned where they are not attached to the structure. The pictures on the TV looked as if this thinned area had failed. But Why!!!! Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 (edited) It looks as though the fixings have given way as the whole panel has disappeared quite neatly - not a ragged hole as such. I looks like this is an emergency door: On the 737Max9 there are these behind the wing on each side: " If it's Boeing, I ain't going " Edited January 6 by RobH Quote Link to post Share on other sites
harlequin Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 Not to keen on the sound of all this, as we are due to fly back from Stavanger to Gatwick on Monday on a 737 George Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 If you are going Norwegian Air, they fly a mix of older 737s, (300s, 500s and 800s) which have a good safety record. They also have the newer 737Max8 which is shorter than the above Max9 so doesn't have that door. I bet all the airlines are double-checking doors now..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
harlequin Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 25 minutes ago, RobH said: If you are going Norwegian Air, they fly a mix of older 737s, (300s, 500s and 800s) which have a good safety record. They also have the newer 737Max8 which is shorter than the above Max9 so doesn't have that door. I bet all the airlines are double-checking doors now..... Thanks Rob Yes it's Norwegian and after checking the booking I see it's an 800 George Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted January 6 Author Report Share Posted January 6 Hi George, There are a number of emergency exits and are usually very safe. However, ALWAYS keep your seat belt done up. The news this morning did not say it was a door that fell off but a panel that blew out - significant difference. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 (edited) 3 hours ago, RogerH said: The news this morning did not say it was a door that fell off but a panel that blew out - significant difference. The photo I posted is a clip from here Roger of the actual plane. The reports seem to have become 'garbled', quel surprise, but the picture is here at 2:13: edit- the first video was removed from youtube but this one shows the same. Edited January 6 by RobH add new video Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 Looks to me comparing photo and drawing, it was door or emergency exit. Lucky it did not impact the tail plane. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
harlequin Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 Well if it happens again on Monday I will be able to let you know if it was a door or a panel George Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AndyR100 Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 That section of the fuselage is either a window or an emergency exit depending on the airline/spec ……. Andy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stillp Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 2 hours ago, harlequin said: Well if it happens again on Monday I will be able to let you know if it was a door or a panel George Keep your seatbelt fastened, just in case... Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AndyR100 Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 20 minutes ago, stillp said: Keep your seatbelt fastened, just in case... Pete ‘Twas always thus Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted January 7 Author Report Share Posted January 7 The British method of fitting these emergency exit doors was such that once it was unlocked it had to be brought into the cabin (just a few inches) and then tossed outside. The door was bigger than the hole. The structure holds it in place. It would appear that this door exited straight out Interesting design. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueTR3A-5EKT Posted January 7 Report Share Posted January 7 (edited) 29 minutes ago, RogerH said: The British method of fitting these emergency exit doors was such that once it was unlocked it had to be brought into the cabin (just a few inches) and then tossed outside. The door was bigger than the hole. The structure holds it in place. It would appear that this door exited straight out Interesting design. Roger As Boeing use robots to rivet skins to spars perhaps the robot ran out of rivets but just got on with the job. No software to detect whether the rivet hole was actually filled and the rivet swaged? Perhaps the method must be approved by the FAA. Question now is will Ireland’s second national carrier (Ryanair) be thinking hard about its commitment to buy 150 of these aircraft ? Did anyone else listen to the BBC radio play called Plane Speaking? All about the components of a 737Max discussing their lives before they fell out the sky. I notice the BBC have suspended it from their iplayer. Edited January 7 by BlueTR3A-5EKT Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueTR3A-5EKT Posted January 7 Report Share Posted January 7 32 minutes ago, RogerH said: The British method of fitting these emergency exit doors was such that once it was unlocked it had to be brought into the cabin (just a few inches) and then tossed outside. The door was bigger than the hole. The structure holds it in place. It would appear that this door exited straight out Interesting design. Roger Same door arrangement MD used in the DC10 as seen disintegrating at Paris when a Turkish Airlines aircraft freight door blew out That failure was due to integrity of latch construction. You could close the external locking handle of the freight door when the latch bolts, door to airframe, were not engaged. Thankfully for B737 Max the panel that blew out carried no flight control cabling as was the case of the DC 10 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve-B Posted January 7 Report Share Posted January 7 How many more crashes, deaths and emergencies will the aviation regulators allow before this version of the plane is declared unsafe? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted January 7 Author Report Share Posted January 7 Hi Pete, I thought that the cabling on the DC10 didn't go near the door but the pressure differential between cabin and freight bay caused the floors to collapse thus trapping the cables. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted January 7 Author Report Share Posted January 7 18 minutes ago, Steve-B said: How many more crashes, deaths and emergencies will the aviation regulators allow before this version of the plane is declared unsafe? Hi Steve, sadly flying is still a risky business. There are many issues that never see the light of publicity but only just by a dab of luck. It is only when something topical keeps popping up that the news boys start a hulabaloo. The B737Max has had more than its share of problems. Boeing have not done well. If you get rid of the aircraft another will replace it given time. A friend of mine wenbt to Boeing in the mid 80's and all was very good. Then they changed their management style and the bean counters came in. Disaster suddenly struck. You can't run an aerospace manufacturing industry on a show string. You can make savings, but with caution. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted January 7 Report Share Posted January 7 It seems from some reports that it all went to pot with the MD/Boeing merger. Boeing used to be engineer-lead but that all changed.... https://qz.com/1776080/how-the-mcdonnell-douglas-boeing-merger-led-to-the-737-max-crisis Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted January 7 Author Report Share Posted January 7 Sounds about right Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueTR3A-5EKT Posted January 7 Report Share Posted January 7 1 hour ago, RogerH said: Hi Pete, I thought that the cabling on the DC10 didn't go near the door but the pressure differential between cabin and freight bay caused the floors to collapse thus trapping the cables. Roger Yes that is my understanding. the passenger floor collapsed onto the control cables etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueTR3A-5EKT Posted January 7 Report Share Posted January 7 So, how long before a family refuse to fly to their holiday destination on a 737.Max? And that spreads panic and objection through the air travelling public. At least you should be able to check what aircraft your carrier have scheduled to complete the flight you have chosen to use. Could be a lot of empty seats on 737 Max aeroplanes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trev Good Posted January 8 Report Share Posted January 8 Interesting reports coming out today that the plane in question had recently been restricted to only flying over land as the decompression warning lights had come on on more than one previous flight. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted January 8 Author Report Share Posted January 8 They were predictive !! Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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